Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-02-01
Rn.ines. Expnn sion.

As our city increases in population,
the expansion OF its business area
will keep pace with its growth. A
few years ago it would have been
considered wild to have predicted
that business houses would have in
vaded some streets that are now
changing their residence character
and rapidly being filled with stores.
If the marvellous transition we have
lust witnessed, at almost the begin
ming of our business expansion, is
cause for astonishment, who will
venture to map out our commercial
streets, and the boundaries OF the
business area OF our city few years
hence? Many of US have been
m Oldest enough to place the limit OF
our population ten years hence at
one hundred thousand. But that
estimate is manifestly far below the
mark. 1t is admitted that we have
now in our city fifty thousand in
habitants. Another fifty thousand
will be added in less than five years,
at the rate of cur present increase.
That the population will be doubled
in decade is more than probable,
and Los Angeles will then be city
of perhaps two hundred thousand
souls. We have only to see the ex-
pansion of the business area that has
taken place in the last four years to
realize q fair idea of what it
will be ten years hence. Business
has already run laterally, on both
sides of Main and Spring streets, for
several blocks, from Commercial TO
Second and Third, and even beyond.
At the same time it has marched out
upon the longitudinal arteries 10
Sixth street and even beyond. Then
again, it has invaded Fort street,
where it is destined to take up its
line of march and soon perhaps catch
up to and keep pace with its parallel
rivals. All this has been produced
by the increase of our city to 90, ,OOC
inhabitants, and the business area is
not yet sufficient to meet the demands
of that population. Now, if We mul-
iply that by four then the area re.
quired ten years hence will be four
times as much as it is now. The
far-seeing man who buys properly
now with view to this expansion is
the man who will be counted amongst
I he wealthy property-holders OF Los
Angeles a decade hence. We would
not venture to point out the exact
directions this march will take; but
one could hardly make mistake by
drawing an elipse, with the present
Court House as its centre, and bring
ing within its lines four times the
present area OF our business territory,
by claiming that anywhere within
X.ose lines the business growth of our
city will occur. OF course allowances
would have to be made for the pecu-
liar Typographical configuration OF our
city so as to locate its future business
expansion. The business portion OF
the city will necessarily spread both
ways from the centre-that is north
wardly as well as soutwardly. Which
way will become the most valuable
~ business streets, it is not possible
now to determine. But this much is
certain. The good fortune of the men
who purchased real estate ten years
ago on lower Spring and Main streets
can be repeated by any ybody now who
Will buy real estate anywhere within
the lines we have family indicated.
Many of those who have become
rich on the advance OF business upon
their property in Los Angeles waited a
far longer time for the expansion of
the business area OF our city than
will those who are wise enough to buy
now in streets that are at present
considered by the unthinking as
hopelessly remote from the business
centre.